Philadelphia Phillies 2024 MLB Draft Review

Draft Theme: Speed Demons

The Phillies had the biggest off-the-board first round selection of the draft when they took OF Dante Nori with the 27th overall pick. That said, his No. 80 BA 500 ranking is perfectly in line with other “surprise picks” that have worked out nicely for teams in recent years, including 2022 Rays first rounder Xavier Isaac (ranked No. 99, drafted 29th overall). One trait that was common among each of the Phillies’ first three players was speed. Each of Nori, OF Griffin Burkholder and OF John Spikerman (who was drafted as a shortstop) earned 70-grade speed projections. Of the 200 players who received tool grades in this draft, only 12 players in total had 70-grade or better speed tools. Now the Phillies have a quarter of that entire group.

Most Interesting Day 2 Pick: RHP Marcus Morgan, 9th round

Morgan has been a consistently wild and sometimes effective starter for Iowa over three seasons, with a standout 2023 season sandwiched in between 2022 and 2024 campaigns that saw his ERA get above 7.00. A 6-foot-3, 210-pound righthander, Morgan is a tremendous pure athlete with a great frame and relatively easy arm action, but his 19.2% career walk rate has been a huge limiting factor. He mostly works off a three-pitch mix that includes a fastball that sits in the 90-94 mph range but will get into the upper 90s at peak, a mid-80s sweeping slider and a hard cutter in the upper 80s. Scouts have noted that he seems to baby the fastball at times and doesn’t seem to have the most confidence in the pitch, and he throws it for strikes less frequently than both his slider and cutter, as well as an occasionally-used slower curveball and mid-80s changeup. Morgan has high spin rates across his pitch mix, but he’ll need to take huge steps forward with his control to become effective on a consistent basis—let alone give himself a chance to start. Morgan’s arm is often too fast for him to sync up effectively and he’ll need to do a better job consistently hitting his release point.

Most Interesting Day 3 Pick: LHP Jared Spencer, 14th round

Spencer was a full-time reliever for Indiana State during his first two seasons with the program, and his sophomore season was excellent after a jump in velocity led to more strikeouts. He pitched as a split starter/reliever in 2024 and posted a 4.08 ERA over 53 innings and nine starts, with a 29.5% strikeout rate and 13.5% walk rate. Spencer has a lean, 6-foot-3, 195-pound frame that has room to add more strength and throws with a violent delivery that includes a stabbing action in his arm stroke and a three-quarters arm slot. He works with a two-pitch mix that includes a fastball that averages 93 mph and gets up to 98 and a mid-80s slider that features hard and late biting action. The slider is his go-to swing-and-miss offering and generated a 48% miss rate this spring and should have the power and movement to be an effective breaking ball against both lefties and righties and a potential plus offering, Spencer’s control is below-average and he has never shown a legitimate third pitch with any sort of consistency or regularity, so he profiles best as a reliever in pro ball where the fastball and slider could be enough.